


Field Notes: An Oblivio Rewrite (sort of)

by coccinelle_et_chaton



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, F/M, Flash-fic, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, ladrien, oblivio rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 22:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18186560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coccinelle_et_chaton/pseuds/coccinelle_et_chaton
Summary: After the events that led to the deakumatization of Alya and Nino, Adrien finds some notes he wrote to himself while fighting the Akuma which carry shocking revelations. Having no idea how exactly him and Ladybug came to defeat Oblivio, Adrien tries to retrace his steps with his notes and eyewitnesses to put two and two together, but most importantly, to figure out why on Earth he would know how good a kisser Marinette is.





	1. Tidbits 1 - 3

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So I did end up migrating this tumblr fic onto AO3, for organization purposes. It's also a "flash-fic". I'm not sure if that's the correct term but basically, because I literally have like 5 hours free per day, I will be posting "tidbits" every other day or so and will upload them right away. So there's no editing or planning, it's just me writing for fun and sharing what I came up with on real time, and well, obviously typos and terrible grammar will happen so apologies in advance. 
> 
> Another thing to note is that it's not an entire Oblivio rewrite per se, it's based on the headcannons of @my-miraculous-headcanons on Tumblr, which you can find here: https://my-miraculous-headcanons.tumblr.com/post/183547110279/i-want-a-fanfic-rewrite-of-oblivio-but-not-a. Basically, the premises are:  
> 1\. It takes longer for them to defeat Oblivio  
> 2\. They make it out Montparnasse Tower  
> 3\. They don’t manage to get ahold of Master Fu immediately  
> 4.They walk into the Dupain-Cheng bakery without knowing that’s Marinette’s house.  
> 5\. They realize they weren’t dating.  
> 6\. There is evidence left from the Akuma attack  
> 7\. The memory-wipe is not entirely effective

To say Plagg was having a field day would be an understatement. He laughed hysterically, rolling over himself and wiping tears of unbridled delight, as Adrien paced around his room like a wild animal.   
  
The air was too stuffy, Adrien decided, and opened a window. He then proceeded to look at the picture on his phone, a note he wrote to himself, which made panic resurge again.   
  
“Don’t laugh, Plagg! This is serious!”   
  
Plagg couldn’t care less. He tried keeping a straight face to no avail.   
  
“You kissed Ladybug and you can’t remember,” he said, in between laughs. “Ah, this is too much. I can’t… And it’s two times now! Boy, you are really unlucky.” 

Adrien glared at him as he plopped down on his chair, making it spin a couple times. He sighed.  
  
“That’s not even the worst part,” he lamented. “What is this even supposed to mean?” he groaned, looking at the note again and reading it out loud.   
  
“Go to Marinette and ASK HER OUT YOU DUMB IDIOT. HOW COULD YOU NOT SEE? ARE WE ACTUALLY THAT STUPID? Dear god. She’s a great kisser, btw. AND DON’T YOU DARE OVER-THINK THIS ONE. TRUST ME. JUST TRUST ME.”   
  
“Well, I don’t know what you’re confused about. The instructions seem pretty clear.”   
  
Adrien shook his head. “But… How…”   
  
Did he kiss Marinette in the middle of an akuma fight? Why was Marinette even there? Maybe he really was that stupid. 

Plagg flew to his face and held his nose in between his tiny paws. “What are we?”   
  
“An idiot sandwich,” he said, with a nasal voice because of Plagg’s paws.   
  
“Now that that’s established, has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, that note has something to do with that,” he said, pointing at the picture on the Ladyblog. It was him, as Chat, kissing Ladybug. It was hard to make out the figures, because it looks like Alya had to hide somewhere to take the shot. But it was undeniably them. 

Adrien gulped.   
  
“Do you really think…” he muttered quietly. “Ugh. Figures. I give myself instructions and I make a point of being as cryptic as humanly possible, knowing how I am.” 

“How is that note cryptic?” Plagg whined. “It’s literally clearer than water.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Here’s a revolutionary idea, what if you just did what the note says and for once don’t make an entire apocalypse in your head. See where that leads ya.”  

Well, he was dumb but not  _that_ dumb, right? If he wrote that note it was probably because of something important. So, as nervous as he was, he decided to approach Marinette the next day at school. He stumbled on his own step as he walked to her, almost crashing with her. Curious. He did not recall being so fidgety around her. 

“Hey Marinette!” he said, sheepishly. Marinette, unaware he was standing behind her, screamed in surprise. 

“Adrien! Hi Adrien. Hi. Morning. Good. HI… Sorry.” 

He smiled warmly at her. “So… that was a crazy akuma, huh?” 

The color drained from her face, momentarily forgetting that most people in Paris didn’t remember Oblivio’s attack, and concluding that, for some reason, Adrien had managed to see her as Ladybug while she couldn’t remember. “Why? What did you see?” 

“Heh, nothing. I don’t remember anything actually.”  
  
“Huh, same here. My parents weren’t hit though, they said they saw you coming into the bakery yesterday.” She conveniently left out the part where she was with him. She was still trying to piece together that particular mess.   
  
“Really?”   
  
That was a very enthusiastic “really” for Marinette’s taste.   
  
“Yeah. Hah… Say… you really don’t remember anything, right?”  
  
He chuckled. “Nope! Wish I did though…”   
  
“Yeah…”  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence which he combated quickly.   
  
“Uh…” He cleared his throat, conscious of the blood that rushed to his face. “Um… I was wondering if uh… I–I’m free tomorrow. I mean… I uh…”  
  
The classroom was beginning to fill up with his peers, and some people inevitably directed their attention to them.   
  
“Can I talk to you in private?” He muttered.  
  
Marinette could only nod, feeling as her soul left her body. He pulled her to an empty locker section.   
  
“I uh… I have something to show you,” he admitted, blushing bright red. He produced his phone from his pocket and showed her the lock screen. It was Marinette’s turn to panic.  
  
“I don’t know why I wrote that but uh… I was hoping that if I followed the instructions I left for myself, I’d figure it out– BUT I MEAN NO. I mean, uh… it’s not just because of that. I– I just… Uh. This played out in my head differently.” 

This was just Marinette’s luck though. By some divine providence she was too scared to question, the boy of her dreams magically asks her out out of the blue… On the very week her parents specifically asked her to help out at the bakery. The grin she sported washed out as she remembered this particular fact. 

“I’d _really _love to hang out with you, Adrien. It’s just…”

Adrien, seeing her reaction, he immediately regretted ever opening his mouth. For reasons beyond his understanding, he found himself dreading her excuse would have something to do with Luka, of all people. 

“My parents asked me to help out in the bakery right after school the entire week because they have a huge order to deliver,” she said, with evident regret in her voice. For his benefit, she added in a whisper, “I also may or may not be grounded.”

Instantly relieved, he cocked his head to the side and asked with amusement, “How is someone grounded and not grounded at the same time?”

Marinette shrugged. “Apparently I must have done something while Oblivio was on the run. But they wouldn’t exactly tell me… So unless you want to make macaroons until your hands fall off, I think–”

“Making macaroons sounds great!” 

“What.”

He beamed at her. “I love your family’s pastries. And those macaroons you always bring to class are delicious, Marinette. I’d love if you taught me how to make them.”

For the second time in the span of an hour, Marinette was beyond herself with excitement. “Really? Yes! Ok. Yes. Ha ha ha. You. Macaroons. I mean. Yes. Hah.”

Endeared by her antics, he asked, “So when can I drop by?”

“Every day–I MEAN. Frisarday. I mean, Friday. Or Saturday. Both, if you want.”

The bell rang, putting an end to the conversation. “Awesome! Friday, then.”

Adrien walked away, leaving Marinette wondering what the heck had just happened. Did Adrien actually asked her to bake macaroons with her just to hang out? A part of her did not believe it. It took for him to walk with her to her house after school to finally grasp the fact that Adrien Agreste actually was going to spend the afternoon with her. 

Marinette’s mom was manning the store alone when they arrived from school. Mr. Dupain had left in the morning to cater at an event in Versailles, which meant Marinette was in complete charge of producing at least 100 macaroons by the end of the evening. Sabine did not want to think of the fact the number would probably be half of the quota due to a certain boy being there for dinner, but all things considered, Adrien was a child that was easy to have around. 

“I’m home!” Marinette announced to the front of the shop which was temporarily emtpy. Sabine resurfaced from the kitchen and greeted her child with a kiss on the cheek.

“Welcome home kids,” she said cheerfully as the chiming bell of the bakery announced their entrance. “How was school?”

Adrien felt a certain, if allegedly misplaced, warmth by being greeted as if it was his own house. 

“Hello Mrs. Cheng. It was alright. We don’t have too much homework for the weekend, so that’s nice. How are things with the bakery? Hopefully the akuma yesterday didn’t give you too much trouble.”

Marinette produced at tiny squeak and blushed bright red, while Sabine quirked a bemused eyebrow at him and her daughter.

“Ah ha ha, silly Adrien, always with your head in the clouds!” Marinette said in a way that was very unlike her, as she pushed Adrien into the house. “You were here yesterday, remember? Because you weren’t hit by the akuma!”

“Wha–”

“We’re just going in… rest a bit, have some food. We’ll be back in a while.”

“But–.”

“IN A WHILE!” She practically shoved Adrien into the staircase to the apartment building and closed the door behind her. She let out a heavy breath.

“What was that?” he asked, confused, baffled, and honestly a bit excited at Marinette’s sudden change in demeanor.

“I told you, my parents know you were here!” 

“Sorry, I… I don’t follow.”

She moaned. “Apparently, for some reason that’s completely beyond me, you were here and acted–or at least tried to act as if you still had your memory.”

“What?” 

“And uh, I was with you.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Let’s just go upstairs.”

Marinette set the table with some bread, cold cuts, and jasmine tea, in an attempt to not go on a complete nervous breakdown. She had gone over Oblivio’s attack with Tikki, trying to piece as much as she could because she suspected her parents found out about her secret identity. But what’s more, judging by Adrien’s note from him to him, the accounts she heard from her parents, and the CCTV of the bakery, they probably also knew about a certain cat. 

“So… we were both hit by Oblivio yesterday and somehow that ended up in you being semi-grounded and me… leaving a note.” 

“Yup.”

“And how is this a bad thing?” 

Marinette focused on swirling a spoon in her teacup, wanting to evade the question as much as possible. “Well, uh… I. I uh… my parents grounded me because they caught me sneaking out of the house the other day to go to uh… a concert. Yes. And I promised I wouldn’t lie to them anymore, and so when I got hit yesterday I lied and well, ta-daa, semi-grounded!” 

Adrien gave her a deadpan look, which evolved into a smug smirk. “Are you lying about lying?” 

“No!” 

“Right,” he said, still smirking. “Pardon my language but that’s a ton of BS, Marinette.”

“It’s not!”

“It’s too!” He chuckled. “Well, either way it looks like you and I had a great time yesterday. It’s too bad we can’t remember it.”

Truth be told, that wasn’t the truth. Or at least not all of it. The Miraculous Cure sometimes worked in ways Marinette could hardly understand. Like, it  _chose_ what to fix and what not. Buildings, cars, squashed people, that was a hard yes. If anyone or anything was harmed directly by the Akuma, it was restored to its original state. But Marinette noticed that sometimes indirect consequences would linger in one way or the other. Take Chat for example. He once confessed that he’d sometimes get scratches and bruises despite the fact the Ladybugs restored everything or that he’d dream of unlikely scenarios where he’d try to get her Miraculous. But those dreams, Marinette knew, were actually memories of times where an Akuma got a hold of him.   
  
The curious thing is that this never happened to her, at least not until now. Ever since the incident with Oblivio she had this nagging feeling of knowing something happened but being unable to completely remember it. It felt like waking up from a vivid dream and being left only with an inkling of what the dream was about. It was absurd. Especially when considering she might have outed herself to her parents as Ladybug.   
  
According to her mom, Adrien and her walked into the bakery when Oblivio was loose and they acted “differently.” She actually got a lecture out of it because her mom said they were acting like a couple and most definitely did not remember who she was, even though, for some reason, Marinette tried to pretend she did once she realized. She asked if there was something Marinette wanted to talk about. It got even worse when Mari saw the evidence for herself. At night, after her parents had gone to bed, she sneaked into the house computer to watch footage of the bakery’s CCTV. She almost fainted. Not only because it was  _evident_ that Adrien and her were acting like a couple, but because there was a Ladybuggy and Chat Noirish air to them. And that’s why, effectively almost immediately, her mom kept her under close watch.  
  
But Adrien could not know that.   
  
If indeed they slipped, and if indeed, Chat was Adrien as she suspected (because why else would a memory-wiped Adrien Agreste be with her at that precise moment?), it was best for him not to know that she knew. That way they would still be safe. Marinette, as much as it pained her, would manage to keep the secret to herself.   
  
“Mari? Marinette?”   
  
“Huh?”   
  
“I just asked if everything is okay.”  
  
She blushed, as her mind was still lingering on the possibility of Adrien being Chat. “It–yeah. I was just thinking.”   
  
He smiled. “Trying to remember about yesterday?”  
  
She grinned sheepishly.   
  
“It’s like that one movie about the guys that go party in Vegas and the next day they don’t remember what happened and can’t remember where they left one of them.”  
  
“You mean The Hangover?” Marinette said, a bit incredulous. “How do you even know that movie?”  
  
“Well, how do  _you_?”  
  
“Alya and I watched it together.”  
  
“Well, maybe I watched it with Nino,” he said, acting as if he was offended when Marinette snorted. “What? I could’ve.”  
  
“Assuming that your dad would let you to go to the movies and that he wouldn’t know which one you’d go to see, you mean?”   
  
“I got my ways,” he said with a smirk. “You’d be surprised.”  
  
“Uh-huh,” she said, smug.  
  
“It’d be fun to do something like that, no?”

“What,” she said a bit smugly, to her surprise. Acting like herself around Adrien was much easier knowing he might be Chat Noir. She had no idea why, but she liked it. “You’re suggesting we trace our steps back all the way back to the elevator in Montparnasse Tower to figure out why you ordered yourself to have a date with me?”   
  
As soon as the words left her mouth, Marinette realized she had committed a terrible mistake. She widened her eyes and felt her stomach drop, only hoping Adrien didn’t catch it. A long shot, to say the least.  
  
“I… never mentioned anything about the elevator.” 

 


	2. Tidbit 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tidbit 4/?  
> Writing time: 53 minutes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys!! Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments and encouragement. They really made my day :) I'm happy you are enjoying this as much as I do.
> 
> As a side note, this tidbit is much smaller because I usually write for 45 to 60 minutes. The previous "chapter" contained tidbits 1-3
> 
> Enjoy and let me know how you liked it! 
> 
> -coccinelle

As if on cue and with impeccable timing, an earth-shattering rumble exploded somewhere in the streets of Paris which made Marinette's house tremble slightly. The commotion was closely followed by a piercing roar. Marinette didn't need to see it to know it was an Akuma.

Great. Just great.

She squirmed in her seat, seeing that Adrien wasn't moving. In fact, he had crossed his arms and relaxed into his chair; eyes completely fixed on her. When Marinette wished Adrien noticed her, this wasn't the attention she meant.

She couldn't exactly come up with an excuse to leave now. Adrien was literally one poorly-thought alibi away from outing her. Meanwhile, pandemonium reigned supreme in the Parisian streets. She could hear the crash and tumble of cars and buildings being tossed around, while the unhinged screams of the regular pedestrian sang in unison with the general mayhem.

"There's an Akuma," she said, twisting a napking in her hands as she looked to the window and then back to Adrien.

"Yeah," he said, almost cheerfully, while taking a sip from his tea.

Some building crashed a few blocks away, triggering the alarm of several parked cars. What in the _hell_ did Hawkmoth akumatize this time?

"Sounds like it's a big one."

"Yep." 

A random passerby on Marinette's street shouted panicked enough that both of them could hear. "OH MY GOD, HE TOOK THE EIFFEL TOWER!"

"Oh my god, he took the Eiffel Tower," Marinette repeated with an anti-climatic calm. 

"It's okay Marinette," he said. "I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will put it back where it belongs." When the roar of another falling building interrupted him, he added, "Though I do wonder what's taking them so long."

Surprisingly annoyed at him and knowing _exactly_ what Adrien was trying to do, she said,"Well, I sure hope they have a good excuse. I'd hate to think they got distracted from their responsibilities."   
  
Chat or no Chat, if Adrien had figured her out he had absolutely no business getting in the way of her superhero duties. This seemed to touch base with Adrien, whose expression changed from slightly amused, to terribly guilty. 

"Geez. At least fake it a little bit, Chat," she thought. 

"Uh... may I use your restroom for a sec?"

"It's down the hallway."

As soon as he closed the door, she stood close enough to the restroom so that Adrien would hear, but far away that her mother wouldn't. "What's that mom?" She paused. "Hey, Adrien?  I'll be downstairs. I think my mom is calling me."   
  
Knowing the curiosity of Chat Noir had no limits she raced up her bedroom, transforming as she climbed the stairs. Almost immediately, she heard the door of the bathroom open and Adrien going down to the bakery. She had never flown out of the trap door to the balcony so fast. She got into the crime scene faster than Chat himself, whom, in his defense, acted as if nothing was happening given that they were in the same district where Nino and Alya had been akumatized as Oblivio a few days before.

"Afternoon, m'lady. Sorry I took so lo--." 

"No time to get cozy, Chat. This Akuma's going to be done with Paris if we don't stop it now."

She swung closer to the Akuma -- a five meter dinosaur with a golden tooth.

"Terrific," Ladybug said, as Chat Noir caught up. She pointed at the tooth so he'd see.

He groaned and swore under his breath. "Great. We're gonna get munched by the dino."

A few Cataclysms and Miraculous Ladybugs later, Paris had gone back to normal. 

"I think we broke a new record," Chat said, looking at his stick-phone. "Fifteen minutes, LB." 

"Yeah," she laughed nervously. "Good job, Chaton!"

"Pound it!" they said in unison, doing their trademark fist-bump. 

"I can't stick around, Chat. I'm helping my parents with something, see ya!" 

"Of course, m'lady."   
  
He gave her three, maybe five seconds of a headstart. He had never ran so fast in his entire life. It was a miracle he didn't crash into the window when he flew back into Marinette's apartment, or that she didn't see him detransform. She was just coming down the stairs, bedraggled and short of breath as he was.  
  
"Ah, there you are!" she said, struggling to speak.

"I didn't go anywhere," he said, heaving. 

"Of course."   
  
Adrien gave her a stubborn look, which she happily returned.  
  
"Kids?" Sabine called from downstairs. "Are you okay? There was an Akuma but it's gone now."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
"Yes, mom."   
  
"So what about those macaroons?" Adrien asked, momentarily in his usual sunny self and switching into a more deviant tone with whiplash speed. "Can't wait to get started." 

She almost forgot they weren't wearing the suits as she gave him an amused eyeroll. "Patience, kit--" she stopped herself. "Patience."

He smirked. "Oh, I have plenty." 

 


	3. Tidbit 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tidbit 5  
> Writing time: 1 hr

Outrageous. In the past few hours that she had spent with Adrien, Marinette had learned that was a suitable word to describe him. Outrageous. Much to Marinette's surprise there was a ridiculously funny sense of humor behind that put-together facade he wore to school. He tentatively slid into it after the Akuma, and once he felt Marinette was okay with it, he went full-throttle. The only one who had ever seen him like that was Plagg.  
Marinette had spent the time teaching Adrien--or at least attempting to--how to properly bake macaroons, and while he sort of caught the hang of it, he also decided to stuff his conversation with the absolute dumbest bread-related puns. He learned quickly that Marinette loved to hate them--but he was sure deep down she also found them funny. Thus, he decided to annoy her to her wits’ end.

She was wheezing, trying to catch her breath and bent in pain from the laughter. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.  
"That has to be the worst pun in the history of puns."

Adrien, who was still laughing as well, said in between cackles, "But that's what makes it funny!" He sighed, laughter wearing off slightly. "The dumber, the funnier. Like, what kind of idiot would actually talk like that and think it's cool?"

Marinette gave him a look.

"I do it ironically!"

"So Chat Noir might actually be that idiot."

He opened his mouth in shock and feigned insult. "His puns are ironic too! It's irony, Marinette. Irony."  
"It's corny!" Marinette said laughing.  
"Psht. You're still giggling at the last one! Your grievance has no legitimacy."

"You're just mad I just told you puns aren't cool." She stuck out her tongue at him, which he reciprocated by blowing flour square onto her face.  
She stood there, shocked but excited that Adrien had the audacity to do that. As if he knew what she was thinking, he smirked and said, "And you ain't seen muffin yet."  
Marinette groaned and laughed. "Noooo!"

Sabine walked into the kitchen to find the pair of teens caked in flour and other ingredients, joking and fooling around, with no macaroons in sight. She sighed, expecting this very outcome but amused nonetheless.

"You two look like you're ready to go into the oven."

"Sorry mom," Marinette said, turning red. "We'll clean everything up, promise."

She adjusted her coat while giving instructions to Marinette. "When you do, please go up to the apartment to set the table and then come down to the front for a bit. I’m going on an errand but dinner will be ready at six. Adrien, dear, are you joining us? You're welcome to stay if you want."

He glanced at Marinette, who was struggling to hide her excitement. He smiled warmly at her. Truth be told, Adrien didn’t want to leave but he knew what his father would say.

“You’re very kind, Mrs. Cheng, but I think I will have to call my father first to see if I can stay.”

“Very well. Let me know when you call him. I will be back in an hour.” With that, Mari and Adrien were left in privacy again.

Finally sobered from their laughing fit, they disposed to clean up the mess they had made.

“I thought your mom would be mad we turned the kitchen into a war zone,” Adrien confessed. “I wouldn’t have heard the end of it if it was my dad.”

“You’re giving her too much credit,” Marinette said. “She’ll say something alright. Just not in front of you.”

“Are they strict, your parents?”

She shrugged. “To be honest I get away with things most kids don’t. But I’m also not like, a complete pain, you know? Or at least I try not to be. They don’t breathe on my neck so long as I’m responsible.”

“Seems like a reasonable deal.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I guess... And yours? Your dad barely lets you out of his sight, right?”

Adrien chuckled darkly. “That’s a generous assumption. But yeah. He’s a bit paranoid.”

“How come he let you waste your time with me then?”

“Hanging out with you isn’t a waste of time, Mari,” he said, a light blush creeping onto his cheeks. “But uh... he doesn’t know I’m here.”

Marinette gasped with exaggeration. “My, my, Agreste Jr. sneaking on his father, how scandalous.”

He smirked at her. “You’re not the only one keeping secrets.”

Marinette blushed, remembering the fact her secret identity was in peril.

“I’m an open book.”

“And also a terrible liar.”

She wanted to mention how he singlehandedly volunteered to voice Chat Noir in a movie and don a Chat Noir suit for a musical video, but that was a banter saved best for when she had factual proof of her suspicions.

“All things considered, I better call him. Hang on a sec.”

He speed dialed for Natalie’s contact. She answered promptly.

“Hi Natalie!”

Pause.

“You did? Oh. Heh. Well, I was calling you exactly because of that. I stayed to help some of my peers since the coach wasn’t there and I ran into a friend of mine and--.”

Natalie spoke loud enough that Marinette could make out some of the conversation. She said something about Adrien knowing how his father felt about spending too much time with his school friends. She felt sad for him, she couldn’t imagine her parents dosing her time with Alya and the girls.

“It’s not Nino. You didn’t let me finish. I ran into Marinette and she invited me over her house for dinner.”

Silence, then a question. “Yes, her. Marinette Dupaun-Cheng. Yes.”

Silence. Then a mumble of words.

“Really?” Adrien asked excited. “Okay! Thanks, Natalie! Tell my dad I say thanks! Bye.”

He hung up. “Wow.”

“What happened?” Marinette asked, curious for an explanation.

“My dad really likes you. He never lets me stay over at anyone’s house, especially without notice. I think you made an impression on him with that contest at school but you passed onto his good book when you rejected Audrey Burgeois’ offer.” He snickered.

Marinette arched her brows. “I take that as a compliment. And what was that whole story you gave Natalie? And why did you call Natalie and not your dad?

Adrien chuckled. “My dad never picks up his phone if I call him. It’s faster to just call Natalie. As for the story, I’ll trade it for the full version of what your parents told you about us when Oblivio was around.”

Marinette felt her blood rise up to her face.

“I already told you,” she said, crossing her arms defensively. “They just told me we came in, acting like... well, not ourselves and disoriented.”

“Fine,” Adriend said, leaning against a counter and giving her a devilish look. “Your loss. My story was entretaining.”

“Sure it was.”

“Mariiiiii please!”

“Curiosity killed the cat, Adrien. Come on, let’s go to the front of the shop.”

“Yes, but satisfaction brought it back! And they have nine lives! Mari, don’t ignore me!”

Adrien proceeded to try and bribe Marinette with all conceivable means, to no avail.

“You’re barking at the wrong tree, Adrien,” she said, rolling her eyes . “And honestly, what makes you think I can be bought like that?”

“...Desperation? Come on, please, I want to know!” he moaned. He got an idea and produced his “Tell you what, you know this other very famous designer that you like Jean Linnes? I can personally book--.”

He stopped dead on his tracks. He had opened his gallery to look for a screenshot he had of Ms. Linnes’ contact when he noticed he had two videos that dated from Oblivio’s attack that he hadn’t seen.

In one, the thumbnail was blurry but he could see it was Marinette and him. In the other, there was Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Adrien?” Marinette asked. “What’s--?”

He pressed play on the first. They were running, no longer inside Montparnasse Tower.

“Adrien, what are you doing?” the Marinette of the video asked.

“Documenting! It’s gonna be funny to see this when we defeat the monster.”

Marinette laughed in the background. “Okay, but don’t get too distracted. We need to find Mr. Turtle.”

The Marinette of the present widened her eyes. That was the last part she needed to piece her semblance of Oblivio’s attack, and seeing how pale Adrien had turned, so did he.

“Okay,” continued the Adrien of the video. “So, we just found out that we’re a superhero couple but we can’t seem to use out powers so we--.”

Adrien gasped and dropped his phone, cracking the screen lightly.

A tension of untold proportions settled in. Neither did so much as breathe. Adrien himself was not sure he remembered how to move, how to think.  

The video kept playing, spilling truths like an open faucet in an overflowing sink.

“We need to find a place to charge our phones,” said Adrien in the video.

“There!” Marinette exclaimed. “There’s an electronics store. Let’s go.”

“Good call,” said Adrien and as Marinette sped ahead of him, he spoke to the camera. “You’re so smart, no wonder I’m in love with you.”

Present-Adrien though, wanted to die in the spot. Not necessarily because he wouldn’t agree with his _obliviated_ self, but because of how utterly cheesy he sounded.

He covered his mouth in an attempt to ease the embarrassment, but it did little for him, as the video version of himself continued to praise his “girlfriend.” In that moment, he realized what Plagg meant when he said he was a little too much sometimes.

Marinette on the other hand had gone in a sort of mute shock where she covered her face, hoping for one of two things: either to wake up from this cringy nightmare or smother herself to death.

The calvary worsened with the next video, the one where they were with the suits on and leaving no doubt of their identities.

In that moment, the bell of the bakery’s front door chimed, announcing the arrival of Mrs. Cheng.

They launched themselves to grab the phone, causing a ruckus in the process. Adrien managed to grab the device and fumbled with it, trying to stop the video. Panicked because he had managed to freeze it and the audio kept on going, he ended up smashing it. The pair came up to their feet immediately to face a confused Mrs. Cheng.

“Oh no! Ha ha silly me, I accidentally broke my phone! Oops!”

“What were you two watching?” she asked with an authoritative voice.

They looked at each other, silently screaming in panic.

“Porn,” Marinette blurted.

“Cat videos,” Adrien said at the same time. He turned to Marinette with a scandalized expression.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Mrs. Cheng said. “You will tell me what you were watching at once or so help me god, with all the pain of my heart I will have to ground you and I will have to tell your father about this, too, Adrien.”


	4. Tidbit 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette have a lot to discuss after they learn each other's secrets.   
> Writing time: ? maybe like 5 hours total? idk it took me a while

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for the support in the previous tidbits of this story! They really kept me going and brightened my day ^^. Sorry for posting this so late, life got in the way, as it usually does. 
> 
> Enjoy Tidibt 6 out of (most probably) 7! Leave a review if you feel like it! :D Thanks for reading.

There was silence for a moment.

“And well?” Mrs. Cheng demanded.

“It...”

Adrien looked at Marinette, breath in suspension.

“It... it was the CCTV video. I sneaked into the house computer the other day to see what you told me we did and... I downloaded a copy and sent it to Adrien.” 

If Sabine didn’t believe her daughter, she didn’t let it show. 

“You could have asked us to take it, Marinette. There was no need to lie. I’m very disappointed, but we can talk about this laterpp, let’s just get ready for dinner.” 

The two hurried up to the apartment as Mrs. Cheng closed up the shop.

“Porn?” Adrien hissed. “Seriously? Your mom will think I’m some sort of perv!”

“Sorry, I panicked,” Marinette said, not sounding sorry enough for Adrien’s taste. “In your defense, she’s likelier to think I was showing it to you instead of the other way around.”

Adrien opened his mouth to protest but he wasn’t sure he could take yet another shocker. There was plenty on his plate as it was. Curiosity had already taken five of his nine lives through Dante’s seven circles of hell and back. 

Mr. Dupain arrived home just as they were finishing setting the plates, bringing some much needed lightness to the air.

“Hi family, and Adrien. It’s good to have you here son, long time no see!” 

“Thank you, sir,” he said, hoping Mr. Dupain hadn’t noticed his blush when he called him ”son.”

Sabine did not mention the incident as they sat down for dinner, but judging by the slight twinge of worry on Mari’s face, she probably would bring it up when Adrien went home. Aside from the lecture that was sure to come, the evening went by pleasantly. Drastically much more so than any of Adrien’s regular dinners. Mrs. Cheng had decided to spoil them with some real Chinese hotpot and Mr. Dupain entertained everyone with a story about how one of the guests at the event he catered in Versailles had turned into an Akuma because he bit wrong on one of the pastries. 

Adrien and Marinette blushed furiously, remembering an innumerable count of things that needed to be talked through. But hey, at least they knew why there was a giant dinosaur destroying Paris today!

“Let me get you another plate,” Mrs. Cheng told Adrien, seeing how fast he had finished his portions.

“Oh, it’s okay ma’am, I’m--.”

Sabine didn’t let the kid finish. She grabbed Adrien’s bowl and poured a generous second serving. He was full, but he didn’t complain. It wasn’t often that he got to literally gorge himself, plus the hotpot was absolutely delicious. He didn’t have the speed or the energy to decline when she gave him a third plate, though, already close to a food-induced coma.

Seeing how Adrien was struggling, Marinette laughed. 

“My mom’s Chinese, you know,” she said. “She’ll feed you until you explode.” 

“And I hope you’re saving some room for dessert!” Mr. Dupain joked, wanting to throw Adrien a curve.

“Oh my god,” Adrien gasped quietly, but loud enough that Mr. Dupain heard him and laughed out loud. 

“He’s joking,” Mari said. 

“What are you talking about? I promised the Major stuffed teens for his Christmas dinner this year.”

“Well, I sure wasn’t  _ eggspecting  _ that,” Adrien said, not really thinking, to which Mr. Dupain absolutely roared in laughter. 

“God no,” Mari said covering her face with her hands. 

“What’s the  _ batter _ , Mari?” her dad teased. 

“Daaaad!”

“She hates puns,” Mr. Dupain told Adrien. 

“Well, I think everyone _ kneads _ a good  _ bun _ from time to time,” he said, sneaking a shit-eating grin at her. 

They continued to torment poor Marinette but the moment was interrupted by a call to the land line. She hurried to pick it up, happy to have an outing from the misery.

“Hello?”

“The residency of the Dupain-Chengs?”

“Natalie?” Marinette asked, drawing Adrien’s attention instantly. “This is Marinette.”

“Good evening, Marinette. Is Adrien with you? His father is rather upset he is not answering his phone.”

Marinette winced.

“Ah, yes. He is here. His phone is dead, that’s why he wasn’t picking up,” she added, hoping to save him from any punishment. “Would you like me to hand him the phone so he can talk to you?” 

“No need. Just tell him his bodyguard has been waiting outside your bakery for twenty minutes. Please have him come down at once.”

“Okay I--.”

Natalie hung up before she let Marinette reply.

“Will.” How rude, Marinette thought.

“Was that Natalie?” Adrien asked.

“Yes. She told me to tell you your bodyguard is waiting for you downstairs,” she said, sounding disappointed.

Adrien shared a similar tone. “Then I shouldn’t make him wait. Thank you very much for the food ma’am, and for the company, sir.”

“It’s no problem, Adrien,” Tom reassured him. “We like having you here.” 

Marinette’s heart broke a little, seeing how moved Adrien was by her dad’s words.

“I’ll walk you downstairs,” Mari said, glad for some privacy. 

They hung just behind the front door of the building for a while in silence. Neither really knew what to say. 

“You think you’ll be in trouble?” Adrien asked, intentionally ignoring other topics he wanted to ask about. 

Marinette shrugged. “Probably. But being honest, I just hope my mom bought what I told her. I...I think she might have figured me out.” She looked at Adrien with worry. “You know what that means?”

Pensive, he shook his head. “It means that if she ever gets akumatized, Hawkmoth will know I am Ladybug, and he will use my mom to blackmail me.” 

“I won’t let that happen,” he hurried to say. “I’d never let something bad happen to you or your family.”

Marinette gave him a lopsided smile. “Thanks chaton.” Both blushed as she called him by his nickname. “But you and I both know that would be out of our control, if it ever happens.” 

“So what’s the plan?”

She snorted and kicked the dust from the old rug of the reception hall. “Lie, what else can I do?” 

In that moment, Adrien’s bodyguard sounded his car’s claxon. 

“That’s your cue, Cinderella,” she said. 

“I’ll be back. Say around nine?” 

Marinette smiled. “We have patrol today. Didn’t you remember? Go.”

Adrien felt an urge to kiss her goodbye, but he knew it wasn’t an appropriate moment. He didn’t even know what Marinette felt about the revelation of their identities. He didn’t know how he felt himself. However, a distinct sensation of relief and happiness sat at the core of the whirlwind inside him.

Back at the house, Marinette’s dad had gone to take a shower while her mom set the plates into the dishwasher.

“Could you give me a hand, Marinette?”

She braced herself. Her mom’s lectures usually involved some menial task. Today’s choice was the dishes. 

“Sure.” 

Marinette went about her work diligently and quietly, hoping to do it fast enough that her mom didn’t get the time to keep her.

“You know your dad and I give you plenty of liberties.” 

There it was.

She assented with her head. 

“We trust you to tell us what is going on in your life, and to tell us the truth. But lately, I’ve beginning to wonder if perhaps we’ve given you too much freedom. I know you were lying about the CCTV. That video footage has no audio. And I know it was not porn. I... heard enough.”

Marinette’s palms ached with anxiety and sweat. She didn’t know what to say. Forget discovering Chat Noir’s identity, this was even worse. 

“What do you have to say for yourself, Marinette?”

“I... I don’t know what you want me to say. I didn’t break any rule. I just... lied to protect personal information.”

“Personal information that not even your mom can know about?”

“Yes,” she said a little irritated, not really thinking as she snapped. “I’m not six anymore mom.”

She caught herself immediately. 

“Sorry... I... I just. It’s private stuff mom. It’s not bad, and it’s not porn. It’s just personal.”

Sabine sighed. “You know Marinette, I normally would believe you. But this isn’t the first time I catch you lying. I’m worried about you. I’m worried that you think you can’t trust to tell us whatever it is you’re dealing with. You’d sooner tell your friends about it than us. And I honestly don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“I don’t--” she sighed. “It’s not like you’ve had to pick me from the police station or the hospital or anything.”

“I don’t want to wait long enough that I have to do that! That’s my point! I don’t want you to get hurt. There are things children shouldn’t deal with!” 

Marinette groaned. “It’s nothing bad mom. I’m not in danger. I’m not doing drugs or vandalizing buildings.”

“Then what was that video about?”

“I don’t  _ want  _ to tell you!” Mari said, feeling tears pooling in her eyes. “I  _ can’t _ tell you.”

Sabine kept quiet. 

“I just... It’s private.”

“Go to your room. You’re grounded.”

Marinette sniffed. “But mom!”

“I don’t want to hear about it, Marinette.”

She rushed up her room and closed her door with a loud bang. She barely reached her chaise before losing control of herself. Frustration caught up with her and she lost track of time. Before she knew it, she had dozed off, the vibration of her phone on her desk woke her up. 

It was Adrien. 

Dread and the grogginess of her bitter nap sat at the bottom of her belly. She didn’t have the energy to face him, but forced herself to pick up.

“Hi,” he said nervously. “I’m heading out now. Should we meet in our usual spot?”

“Hi,” she said with a raspy voice.

“Oh no, you did get in trouble.”

Tears slipped from the corner of her eyes. “I had an argument with my mom. And I’m grounded. I don’t think I’ll be able to sneak out without getting into more trouble. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I think Paris will survive for one patrol-less night.” 

Marinette smiled, sniffling. “If you wait a little longer, we can talk in my terrace. They’ll go to bed in an hour.”

They agreed to meet at half past midnight, for good measure. He showed up not one minute earlier, nor one later. Marinette was sitting on one of the chairs, fleece wrapped around her and holding a thermos with tea inside. 

Adrien, still in his suit, landed gracefully onto the railing of the terrace and hopped down, not really knowing how to act. 

“Hey.” He waved awkwardly, Marinette reciprocating the gesture equally. “Uh... should I take it off?”

She nodded. “It’s still a bit trippy.”

“Claws off,” he said, giving her no chance of bracing herself. 

A yelp escaped her lips as the green light of his transformation washed over him. Like her, he was already wearing pajamas: a pair of grey sweatpants, a black hoodie, and his sneakers. Plagg rolled out of his ring, complaining about being used as a method of transportation.

“Next time you wanna see your girlfriend, call a cab. I need my beauty sleep, kid!”

Marinette blushed intensely. 

“Plagg!” Tikki, who had been inside the fleece, surfaced to scold him. “That’s so rude!”

As they began bickering, Marinette interrupted. “Can you guys give us a minute? Tikki, I left some food for the both of you in my room--yes, there’s Camembert,” she added before Plagg could complain.

After being left alone,  she pointed at the chair next to her. “Sit you--I mean, you can sit.”

Adrien followed the order dutifully, plopping down into the chair with a nervousness that was unlike him. 

Marinette had already prepared a thermos and a blanket for him, probably anticipating the fact this talk would take time. But for the moment, there was only silence. Neither really knew what to say. 

After a while, Adrien chuckled, disturbing the sound of the nightly breeze. 

“You know what really bothers me about this?”

Marinette felt dread washing over her. Not only she had an argument with her mother, but the boy she crushed on was about to break her heart. Okay.

“It never crossed my mind. It makes me  _ so _ angry.” He shook his head as he looked at the skyline. “You’ve literally been sitting behind me this whole time. I knew how great you are, and I was still fixated on “Ladybug”. I didn’t see it.” He groaned. “How could I have been so stupid? How did I not see it before?”

“In your defense, you did call yourself stupid in that note,” Marinette offered. 

He chuckled. “I guess. But if that Akuma hadn’t hit us, we’d still be in the dark. It’s frustrating to know how much longer this could’ve gone for.” 

“You did always want to know my identity more than I did,” she mentioned, realizing it sounded disinterested only after seeing Adrien’s expression. 

“Are you mad it’s me?”

She had to laugh. “No. Not at all. It’s just I never really expected it could be you.” She fixed her eyes on him, despite feeling her blood rushing to her cheeks. “You’re... I never imagined. It’s like you’re two entirely different people. I thought I knew you very well as Adrien and as Chat  but...I guess I don’t know you at all. Don’t get me wrong, it makes sense. But it’s just... odd. It’s like if you were trying to mix water and oil and all of a sudden you realize you had to mix coffee and milk instead. It makes more sense.” She smiled. 

He reciprocated the gesture momentarily but then fumbled with his cup. He didn’t dare to look at her, but he needed to know. “I know it’s stupid and that we’re not supposed to talk about this, but we already know each other’s identities and... it’s killing me not to know. You-- I remember that time when you didn’t show up to the picnic I made and you said you were in love with someone else...”

Marinette hitched her fleece up, wrapping herself tightly. 

“So...” Adrien continued, pain evident in his voice. “That’s Luka, right?”

Marinette gave him the most outraged look he’d ever seen on her. He knew it well. Plagg gave it to him all the time. It was the are-you-actually-that-stupid face.

“Did you not go into my room a thousand times as Chat Noir or what?” she said, scandalized. “Are you blind? Do we need to get you to the optometrist? Is the suit working okay? Maybe you’re not feeding Plagg enough. We literally flirted for an ENTIRE afternoon, Adrien.”

“I thought we already established I’m socially inept that time when we first met at school, please don’t make any assumptions m’lady. And for the record, if Plagg was a real cat, he’d be morbidly obese with how much Camembert he gorges on a daily basis.”

Marinette felt a wave of glee as he called her by her nickname, but she still had it in her to give him a healthy amount of her trademark sass. “Adrien, my room is literally plastered with your face. I literally know your schedule by heart. I stalked you at school to try and hang out with you--failing miserably every time, I might add.”

“You did seem unhinged sometimes, not gonna lie. But I thought it was cute.”

Marinette laughed.

“It’s not Luka,” she added, just to be clear. “Where in the world would you get that from?”

“That time we went ice-skating.”

“Of course, that time you took some other girl on a date in spite of your “undying love” for Ladybug.”

Adrien snickered. “Are we jealous? In my defense, you did turn me down as Ladybug that time.”

She gasped and narrowed her eyes at him. “Wha--I’m not  _ jealous _ ! I just find it surprising that you-- I’m not-- you know what, you can go out with whoever you want, what do I care.” 

He giggled. “I’m just teasing you.”

She grumbled.

He took a sip from his tea. “And it’s not like you ever made a move on me. I, at least, put myself through the misery.” 

Feeling a little hurt and unable to control the blushing on her face, she protested. “Because I was scared you’d turn me down!” 

Adrien regretted the turn this conversation had taken. He’d never want to make Marinette feel like this. 

Marinette hugged her knees. “I was terrified you’d turn me down because...” her voice shrinked to rodent proportions as the truth dripped out of her mouth. “Because I really, really like you. And you’re always surrounded by girls like Kagami and just... I thought I’d pale in comparison. And now that I know who you are, I’m kind of glad I never said anything because I know, for sure, you would’ve turn me down. No girl could ever live up to the pedestal you have for Ladybug.”

Adrien readied to protest but Marinette cut him off with a look. 

“I know because it was the same for me,” she added.

He allowed himself to reflect on it, voicing his conclusion. “You were never interested in Chat Noir because you wanted to be with Adrien.”

“I thought we had already established that, but glad to see you caught up, chaton,” she said, slightly teasing. 

“Chat Noir was just your goofy partner. You... saw what everybody else sees,” he added, melancholy straining his voice.

“No,” she hurried to say. “I... I knew you were more than just a pretty model, I knew you were kind, polite, considerate... But I also knew there was something more and I had no way of finding out what that was. I mean, your best friend is Nino, come on. I know him since were like six and he’s the epitome of dorkiness. By rule of elimination, I figured you’d have some similar interests and humor.”

“See? That was exactly my point when I asked you out all those times!” he exclaimed. “I just wanted to get to know you. And I thought that if you didn’t want to reveal your identity, that was fine, but maybe we could just spend more time together.”

“I mean, we were both on the same page.”

“Yeah, on different books.”

They looked at each other and laughed. 

“Boy, we are  _ dumb _ ,” Marinette said with a sigh. 

A comfortable silence set for a moment as they both took in the quiet buzz of the sleeping city. After a moment, Adrien intervened again.

“And so, what’s going to happen now?” He was reclined against the beach chair, still looking at the sky.

“What do you mean?”

He turned to her. “With us. I mean...What... What are we?”

Marinette shifted in her seat. “I... don’t know, Chat.”

“But why?” he insisted, pain in his voice.

“I just don’t know! What do you want me to say? Here I was, thinking I knew exactly who you were, and it turns out I didn’t know anything at all! You can’t precisely jump ship into a relationship just after learning your crush is your superhero partner and vice versa. We need time to process this stuff.”

“But I don’t get it! I thought this would clear everything out. Ladybug, we didn’t remember who we were at all and our first instinct wasn’t ‘oh yeah, we’re clearly superheroes’. It was ‘ah yes, I lost my memory and forgot you’re  _ evidently  _ my girlfriend/boyfriend!’ And it’s not like we were flailing around the scene like the first time we fought together.”

“You don’t know that.”

“There’s footage,” he replied stubbornly, crossing his arms. 

Marinette sighed. “All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t rush into this. This is dangerous, Adrien. It’s already bad that my mom is ninety nine point nine  percent sure I’m Ladybug--.”

“Wait, she knows?” he asked, eyes widened and with a churning stomach.

“Judging by how she scolded me, I’d say all she needs is for me to be home when the next Akuma happens and she’ll figure me out. How did she put it? ‘I don’t want to have to pick you up from the police station or the hospital. There are things children shouldn’t deal with.’” 

She took a pause to take a sip from her thermos to fight off the dropping temperature. 

“Trust me, I’m pretty sure she’s onto you, too. And my mom, you know, she’s a mom. She worries about the kids. If she had evidence, trust and believe she’d go and tell your father.” 

Adrien’s stomach dropped. His father was more belligerent. He’d sooner chop his finger, ring still on, than let him be Chat Noir ever again. 

“I... never thought about that.”

“And you’re forgetting the most crucial part of it all.”

“Which is?”

“Master Fu. He knows who we are, Adrien. He is completely against us knowing each other’s identities. Don’t you think he’ll tie up a knot or two if he notices Adrien and Marinette suddenly dating at the very same and convenient time as Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“There’s a  _ ton  _ of ways we can excuse that, Marinette. Worst of cases, we can just play dumb.”

“You want to fool a one-hundred-and-thirty-seven year old man... by playing  dumb?”

Adrien sighed and leaned back against the slope of his chair, defeat slouching him down. 

“I just want us to be together,” he murmured grumpily, to which Marinette could only soften. 

She reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly. “But we  _ are  _ together, chaton.”

He attempted to hold onto his pout but Marinette’s warm gaze melted it away. 

“Yeah, but you know, together-together. Hold-your-hand-in-public together, in and out of costume.”

Marinette blushed. “I want that too... but we need to think this through, Adrien. It’s not a game, we need time.”

He sighed and let go of her hand. “Will you at least finally go to the movies with me?”

Marinette burst into laughter. “Of course, chaton.”

“...And we can get ice-cream after patrols?” he asked wishfully. 

She nodded.

Knowing he was pushing his luck, he added, “And can we at least be dating as Mari and Adrien?”

“Adrien...”

“Please?”

“It’s dangerous, don’t you think it would seem a little suspicious? At school, we’re acquaintances at best.”

Adrien deflated and sighed once more, bringing his legs to his chest. Feeling bad for him, she added, “Trust me, there’s nothing I would want more, Adrien. Nothing would make me happier. But I think it would be sensible to... put a bit of an act, if it makes sense. Make it look like a subtle transition instead of an overnight miracle. Better not to draw attention to ourselves. With my mom about to figure us out and you being a literal public figure, it’s for our own safety.” 

Adrien kept a pensive silence that made Marinette shift uncomfortably. “Are you mad?”

“No,  no. I’m just... trying to refute you,” he admitted with a smile. “But you’re right, as usual. It would be reckless.”

“It’s just for a while, Chat. While the waters calm down.”

Adrien nodded, but if Marinette knew him at all, she knew he still was sad about the situation. She pulled her chair so as to be right next to him and, nervously but sure, she draped an arm around him, tentatively trying to pull him into a hug. 

Adrien’s heart reacted immediately, as if someone had shocked him with a live wire. He turned and leaned into her hug. 

“And think of it this way,” she said in a whisper. “Now I can beat your butt on Mega Strike III on a daily basis, and you can come here to raid the bakery whenever you want.”

She heard him sniff, then his grip on her became a bit tighter. “Yes... And maybe, if you have time, you can come to my photoshoots? They get lonely sometimes.” His voice was strained with emotion.

“Oh, Adrien. Of course.” She pet his hair as she spoke. “Don’t be sad, minou. It’s going to be okay.”

“I’m not sad,” he admitted. “I’m just... feeling a lot. I haven’t been this happy in a long time.” 

She pecked the top of his head. “Me too.”

They remitted to hold each other for the rest of their meeting, eventually losing track of time. It was Tikki who resurfaced from Marinette’s room to remind them it was four in the morning and they had school the next day. 

Reluctantly, Adrien and Plagg followed Tikki’s orders to go home but not without Marinette holding Adrien back for some minutes more. 

She hugged him as if it was the last time they’d see each other, and stayed on the balcony until she lost sight of him. Marinette went to bed on a high, wondering just how she would manage to act as if nothing had happened the next day and lulled to sleep by emotional exhaustion and the thought that, from now on, Adrien--Chat--would be a closer part of her life. 

Inklings of dawning light began showing in the horizon when Adrien arrived home. Silently as ever, he landed into his room and swiftly wore off his transformation. 

He plopped down on his bed wearing the widest smile, thinking how, for a change, the fact that the Miraculous Cure did not always cure everything played in his favor. Thank god the cameras worked. 

His relieved sigh was interrupted by a sudden wave of dread that made him jolt up. 

The cameras worked.

Not just the bakery’s CCTV and his phone but  _ all _ the cameras. Including the ones in Montparnasse Tower. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp! That was that, stay tuned for the final tidbit coming soon! (I promise I won't wait for a whole month to upload it :D Or in the least, I'll try.) 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> DUN DUN DUN. Let me know how you like it in the comments and subscribe if you'd like to see where this experiment goes :D Thanks for reading!


End file.
